Now is Our Turn
by Stars Align456
Summary: The story of the Golden Trio is one we know by heart, but now it is time to tell a different story. Now is the turn of the Marauders and Lily and James - how they grew from young adults into fighting members of the Order. The friends, the enemies, the joys, the heartbreaks. This story has been shrouded in mist for so long - now is the time to tell it...
1. Prologue

**Prologue: To Begin with an Ending**

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT own Harry Potter or anything related, all rights to the wonderful mind of J.K Rowling**

It had all been planned out so perfectly, they would dress Harry up in his little pumpkin costume that his grandmother had stitched so beautifully, and they would run around the house, uncovering all the hidden treats that they had both secreted so carefully around the neat thatched – roof cottage. But now, all that perfection had been shattered, like the shards of a mirror falling down around their ears.

And yet despite the icy cold breath that was without from Death's own mouth whispering across his neck, James Potter felt curiously unafraid. He knew what his fate was now, for he had no wand in his hand. Throughout his life, his wand had always been the first thing his hand flew towards, but not tonight. Tonight it had been Harry, his son, he had been the first thing that his arms leapt to; and he did not regret it.

Then James found himself doing something, that under any other circumstances he would have simply laughed at, he began to pray. James had never really believed in any divine intervention, at least he didn't think so; but any possible trace of it had been lost when he had been thrown into the fray of war. As he stood by and watched so many of his friends, good people, die, he knew that there was nothing else. But now he prayed; not for his life, as he knew that was a die already cast; but for his family. He prayed that at the very least, Lily and Harry had been able to get away – if so, he could leave his mortal body in peace.

His silent plea was interrupted by the deafening crash of the door flying from its hinges, splinters flying across the hallway. There he was, on their threshold, the dark monster that had the nerve to call himself 'Lord'. Voldemort's ghoulish face crumpled into an unholy grin.

"James Potter," his voice was a soft hiss, quiet but menacing. "You know why I am here. Hand over the boy." James felt his rage boil up inside him until he could barely contain it; he could not believe that this monster simply expected to hand over his own son to his death. His hands and voice shook as he prepared for one final defiance.

"You'll never have my son, or hurt my wife."

James saw the emerald spark of light advance towards him, he closed his eyes, wanting his family to be the last earthly thing he saw. The light connected with his chest and he fell to the floor in a mangled heap.

The thud echoed around the house, meeting Lily's anguished ears and a cry escaped her lips, tearing through her throat. She held Harry tighter to her, feeling his tiny heart beat next to her thudding like a kettle drum.

Every time before when she had been faced by death, Lily had always managed to fix her mind onto rational rails; thinking of her best way out. But upon hearing James' body hit the floor, his life leaving him on the other side of the house, all reason had left with it.

Carefully, she placed Harry into his cot and knelt down in front of it, staring at his confused expression through the wooden bars.

"Harry, you are going to need to be so brave, so strong," Lily choked letting a tear roll down her cheek without wiping it away. "I'm not going to be able to be there for you, and I am so, so sorry. But I promise when the time comes I will see you again." Hearing the approaching footsteps, Lily spun around, her determination driving away her fear.

The door was flung open, what little light there was illuminating the Dark Lord, draped in his midnight robes, his scarlet eyes regarding the terrified mother and son with air of sick pleasure.

"You know what I have come for, now step aside." Lily shook her head firmly, saw Voldemort's lips move to form the words that would sever the strand of her fate. One thought filling her mind as the curse connected with her chest.

"James…" She breathed as she dropped to the floor just as James had done. Lily felt herself sailing through a tunnel of light, getting brighter and brighter by the minute when at last the spinning sensation stopped and she was left lying flat on her back, looking up at a misty sky. Little did she know that as she had fallen, Voldemort had stepped over her body and cast the spell that had brought his reign of terror to its abrupt end and set Harry Potter upon a pedestal as 'The Boy Who Lived'.

This is the part of Lily and James' story that we all know so well and yet it is the end, now it is time to tell their story – this time from the beginning….


	2. Fourth Year Drama

**Chapter One**

**October 1974**

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT own Harry Potter **

The faded autumn sunlight filtered through the glass of the Library window and fell across the sandy hair of the boy seated below it; his head bent low over his parchment. As he flipped over a page of the heavy volume propped up in front of him, a cloud of dust was sent into the air, the particles catching the light like small fireflies. This diligent student was Remus Lupin.

Remus had barely begun to admire the tranquillity of the somewhat stuffy interior of the Library, before his peace was broken by an instantly identifiable source.

"Remus, you're concentrating awfully hard – I can almost smell your hair burning up." Remus allowed himself a small smile before turning to face the boyish smirk and mischievous grey eyes of one Sirius Black.

"I think they call it studying, maybe you should try it one day." Remus shot back, trying not to smile, but he could tell he was failing miserably.

Sirius opened his mouth to retort, but not before the crisp tip – tapping of heels announced the arrival of the archaic Librarian, Miss Pince.

"Mr Black!" She hissed in a voice that was craving a drink of water. Sirius spun around, holding up his hands in a universal sign of surrender.

"It's alright Cerberus – I am just leaving." Remus gave a small snort at the reference to the mythological hellhound. Miss Pince pursed her lips, after four years, she knew full well that any punishment thrown at Sirius Black was time and energy wasted; instead she focused on fixing him with her most withering glare before turning on her heel and clicking away.

"You know, secretly, I think she has a thing for me." Sirius whispered, bending his head low, as if he was telling Remus the best kept secret of all time. Remus gave another snort, shaking his head at his friend's incorrigible nature.

"You say that about all the teachers, even Professor McGonagall." Remus turned back to his parchment but was quickly drawn away from it by another thought. "Where are James and Peter?" The two aforementioned Gryffindors had not been present since lunchtime, an occurrence that was almost unheard of.

"James got called off for Quidditch practice, Barnes is taking this match far too seriously if you ask me – I mean it's only against Ravenclaw. And Peter he is in detention." The latter caught Remus' attention most of all, out of the four of them, Peter was the second less likely to receive a detention.

"What did he do?"

"Something to do with Professor Fatum and a Vanishing Cabinet." Sirius explained, smiling as he thought about the timid Divination teacher being transported to some unknown location.

"Ah…well…I'm sure that, uh, made his day more…interesting." Remus finally managed to say, trying to control the laughter that was rippling through him. The two boys sat in silence for several moments before Sirius jumped off the desk, landing with a particularly loud 'thud' on the dark wooden floor, earning a disapproving "shh!" from the Librarian.

"Come on, all this writing is making me feel tired." Knowing that resistance was futile, Remus packed away his numerous books and leaves of parchment; the already frayed seams of his back protesting as he filled it up. "Besides, I saw a crate of something that looked suspiciously like Butterbeer being delivered to the kitchens. Just saying that we should be good friends and have decent refreshments ready for our wounded comrades when they return." Rolling his eyes at the dark – haired boy's falsely sincere expression, Remus slung his bag onto his back, allowing himself to give into temptation.

"Fine, but if Filch kills us – I will be taking it very personally." Sirius smirked.

"I wouldn't have it any other way."

**xXXx**

James was changing out of Quidditch robes when there was a knock on the changing room door. The team shared equally confused expressions before Rory Barnes, the stocky, beater – built seventh year Quidditch captain opened the door ajar.

James' ears were met by the light – hearted and almost day – dreaming tone of Marlene McKinnon. Marlene was a fourth year Gryffindor student, and someone that James had known since he was a small boy. She had mid – length blonde hair that turned frizzy in the first drop of rain and amber coloured eyes that always reminded those who met her of fresh honey. She possessed a sweet personality, although often whatever was running through her head had a tendency to flow out of her mouth without a second thought; this combined with her dreamy voice and far – away expressions had earned her the title of "weird".

"I'm afraid they have finished for now – maybe try again in the summer." Barnes was muttering, a hint of exasperation in his usually tame voice. Even though he could not hear the other half of the conversation, James could easily guess what the subject was.

"Alright, see you later." Barnes closed the door, his expression weary.

"Let me guess – Mad Marlene wanted to try out." Came the sarcastic voice of one of the other chasers. A sixth year girl with a flawless heart – shaped face and long tresses the colour of melted liquorice. James' jaw clenched at the cruel nickname especially when it came from the spiteful mouth of Clarissa Secombe; someone he could safely say he had never been a fan of.

"Back off Secombe. Barnes, couldn't you at least give her a chance?"

"I'd love to Potter, I really would but we can't afford to be losing not now. Besides you remember the catastrophe of when I did let her try out." He certainly did, even Marlene had a thin scar on her scalp as a reminder.

"I'll try talking to her but I can't make any promises. She's a stubborn one where Quidditch is concerned." James assured, shrugging on his jumper and slinging his broom over his shoulder before exiting the changing room.

"I don't know why he bothers, that girl is a 24 – karat nut." Clarissa giggled harshly.

"Potter's right Secombe – back off." Barnes snapped, leaving the former open – mouthed.

**xXXx**

As the sun dipped below the horizon, causing the shadows to lengthen and the temperatures to lower considerably. The Gryffindor Common Room became more crowded as students began to unwind after a day of lessons. Peter, whose arms were aching and robes were covering unmentionable (an unfortunate by – product of being made to clean out the Potions' store cupboards), was met in the lively Common Room by a very welcome bottle of Butterbeer.

"I don't ever want to know some of things Slughorn has got in there." He reported with a little shiver.

"Didn't find any pickled students then? You know how old Sluggy likes his collections." Sirius asked with a dead – pan expression. Peter chuckled against his bottle before shaking his head.

"Nope, sorry to disappoint you."

The boys' conversation was interrupted by the arrival of three females; one of them, a rather curvaceous girl with chestnut – brown hair, was gesticulating wildly; whilst the redhead beside her was nodding understandingly, though it was plainly evident that she was desperately resisting the urge to roll of her eyes. Then, walking slightly behind these two was the tall smiling figure of Marlene.

"Uh! Men!" The brunette groaned, throwing herself down on the scarlet sofa opposite the four boys, who were watching the unfolding proceedings with a mixture of curiosity and anxiety. They knew all too well that where Vera Mellark was concerned, there was an invisible line that one should toe with precise, cautious footsteps.

"What has our gender done?" Remus asked, deciding that someone should be brave enough to venture the question.

"Where to start – I mean, you're all just unbelievably hypocritical."

"Vera!" The redhead scolded, although the corners of her mouth were turned up ever so slightly, "That is not fair, you can't base your entire opinion on one person of the male persuasion." Vera opened her mouth to respond, but realising she had none, folded her arms over her chest and sat back, silently brooding.

Daring to slice the thickening tension that seemed to be demanded more than just an average kitchen knife, James cleared his throat uneasily.

"Marl, I'm sorry about earlier, with the try – outs." Marlene turned her somewhat vague smile to James.

"It's alright; Rory was very nice about it all." She looked over her shoulder to the seventh year captain, surrounded by other Gryffindor seniors.

"We did hear an interesting rumour about Professor Fatum found wandering through Diagon Alley this afternoon, rather bemused by all accounts. You wouldn't happen to know anything about that would you?" Vera asked slowly, even though she already knew the answer, she was enjoying seeing Peter's face change from dusty pink to a new shade of beetroot.

"Well I think Mary for one will want to thank you; Professor Fatum can be very boring." The redhead chuckled.

"Speaking of Mary where is she?" Vera mused; the redhead checked her watch, her brow furrowing.

"She was supposed to meet us here before dinner. I'll go see if I can find her." Without another word, the auburn witch stood up and exited the Common Room, letting the Portrait Hole swing shut behind her.

**xXXx**

The halls were quiet, yet there were still several students wandering through the corridors and milling around the stone lanterns. Lily always preferred the halls when they were empty, in the night time darkness they took on a form of a twilight world all of its own. It was one of the reasons that she so frequently took midnight strolls through the deserted corridors, drinking in every delicious second of solitude.

Lily was content allowing her mind to run through its endless list of thoughts from her parents back in the Muggle world to tomorrow's Transfiguration essay that was lying unfinished on her desk. But her thoughts were soon interrupted by the soft sound of sobbing. Rounding the corner, Lily was met by the devastated and terrified – looking Mary MacDonald, at first the latter did not appear to notice Lily's arrival, but after a few more steps, she turned her head and met Lily's green eyes with her dark red – rimmed orbs.

"Mary, what is? What's wrong?" She crouched down to the raven – haired girl.

"Nothing, its nothing. I'm sorry I was coming to meet you, but I –"

"Did somebody do something to you?" Mary's excuses faltered, she knew they were useless she and Lily had known eachother for almost five years now, they knew eachother inside out and now she knew Lily could see right through this. She nodded slowly. "Who…who did this?"

"The Slytherins, they found out that my Dad…he left my Mum for a Muggle, they said it was fair game." For the first time, Lily noticed the countless small cuts and bruises covering Mary's face and hands. "They're never going to give up are they?" Mary's lip trembled and Lily let her sob into her shoulder.

"Mary, listen, look at me." She waited until their eyes were on the same level, "I'm going to take you to the Hospital Wing, Madame Pomfrey can get you sorted in a heartbeat and then we can decide what to do from there." Together, the two fourth years got to their feet and began to make their way to Hospital Wing. But Lily's mind was not really on the steps she was taking, nor on the strange looks they were receiving, instead her mind was occupied with a thought, a thought that had fuelled her with determination: She had to talk to Sev.

**Hey guys, sorry for the delay on this – hopefully had my last hospital appointment now—this chapter is a bit short I know, but they will get longer I promise.**

**So, big thank you to all of those who have followed/favourited/commented – you guys are keeping the magic alive – stay with us and let it continue!**

**And as always a big thank you to my beautiful friend and co – writer Grayling – she is the brains I am the typist!**

**Love and Hugs**

**~Freya**


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